AUSTIN, TX – Yesterday, the office of the City Manager of San Antonio recommended delaying a vote on annexing three parts of unincorporated Bexar County. The votes on annexation would be delayed until the completion of the city’s comprehensive plan, SA Tomorrow. The San Antonio City Council is expected to consider the proposed annexation plan in Spring 2016.
“Forcibly annexing land without giving the affected property owners a right to vote is undemocratic, and it’s poor public policy,” said Allegra Hill, a Policy Analyst with the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “Just because the City has the legal ability to bowl over citizens’ rights does not mean they should. I am very encouraged to see that the City of San Antonio is responding to the growing public outcry against forced annexation, and is willing to reconsider its use of this policy, at least in the short-term.”
To read more about the problems with municipal annexation policies, please see the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s August 2015 report: Ending Forced Annexation in Texas.
For more information or to request an interview with Ms. Hill, please contact Caroline Espinosa at [email protected] or 512-472-2700.
Allegra Hill is a Policy Analyst with the Center for Local Governance at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin, Texas.